Wal-Mart pushing for more beer salesAn interesting look this morning at Wal-Mart Stores Inc.'s push into the alcohol sector, a $45 billion industry. Two heirs of Sam Walton successfully spearheaded a campaign last year to allow alcohol sales in previously-dry Benton County. Dollar General has also been rapidly expanding its number of Arkansas stores that sell alcohol. Wal-Mart’s push into alcohol will put pressure on entrenched players, from Costco Wholesale Corp. (COST:US) and ...

Clarksville School District flouts disclosure lawsThe Clarksville School District on Tuesday declined to release the names of employees who were furnished firearms to carry on campus, despite an attorney general's opinion saying the information is not exempt from state disclosure laws. In a response to a Freedom of Information Act request submitted last week by The Courier, Little Rock attorney Jay Bequette said Monday the district would not release the names of 22 employees who each received...

McDaniel: Armed teacher info releasable under FOIAArkansas Attorney General Dustin McDaniel's office issued an opinion Monday saying the names of teachers who were trained as security guards and received stipends to purchase handguns cannot be withheld by the Clarksville School District. Superintendent David Hopkins has not fulfilled a Freedom of Information Act request submitted last week by The Courier for the names of the 22 district employees who each received $1,100 to purchase 9 mm pist...

AG opinion fetters Clarksville's plans for guns on campusCLARKSVILLE — This school district's $68,000 plan to arm 22 employees at five schools was put on hold Thursday following a legal opinion from the state's attorney general, but school officials are still exploring the potential for teachers and staff to carry weapons on school property. Superintendent David Hopkins said he will continue to consult with attorneys to discuss the viability of the district's emergency response team, comprised of 22...

Prosecutor: Without exemption, guns illegal on school groundsLocal prosecutors do not "anticipate any problems in Clarksville" after the state's attorney general said school districts could not train teachers and staff to carry weapons on campus. "Absent of fitting in with the security guard or law enforcement exception, no one needs to be going on a K-12 campus with a firearm for any purpose," Fifth Judicial District Prosecuting Attorney David Gibbons said Friday, one day after Arkansas Attorney Genera...

Clarksville police chief discusses arming teachersEDITOR'S NOTE — This story was written in advance for the Aug. 4 edition and is published today in light of Arkansas Attorney General Dustin McDaniel's opinion that school districts cannot arm faculty and staff. This story appears as it was originally written and does not incorporate Thursday's opinion. CLARKSVILLE — Greg Donaldson had two very good reasons to worry when he heard of this school district's plan to arm 20 faculty and staff membe...

Police searches in Johnson County lead to two arrestsCLARKSVILLE — Police here arrested two men in unrelated cases after executing search warrants at the men's homes. The Johnson County Sheriff Office said in a statement last week that Charles Needham, 29, was arrested for possession of methamphetamine and drug paraphernalia after investigators found paraphernalia "in the residence in plain view." Police searched the home on County Road 3385 because they believed Needham — who was placed on prob...

Harry Scott, former owner of Thompson Industries, diesHarry Scott Jr., a former resident of Dardanelle and owner of Russellville-based Thompson Industries Inc., died Sunday in Heber Springs, according to a report from Arkansas Business. Cleburne County Coroner Waren Olmstead said Scott, 64, died of natural causes. A funeral is planned for Thursday. According to his obituary, Scott was born in Lexington, Ken., and attended the University of Kentucky. He was a veteran of the U.S. Army. Founded in 1...

Entergy sues contractors for ANO accidentThe owner and operator of Arkansas Nuclear One have filed a joint lawsuit against a rigging company and its engineer who designed a lifting device that collapsed during a stator replacement project on March 31, killing one worker and injuring several others. Little Rock-based Entergy Arkansas Inc. and its corporate affiliate Entergy Operations Inc. of Jackson, Miss., which operates the two-unit, 1,823-megawatt nuclear power plant near London, ...

Searcy couple released after meth bust in ClarksvilleCLARKSVILLE — A Searcy couple was released from jail here after being stopped on Interstate 40 with more than a quarter pound of methamphetamine hidden in a speaker box. Christopher Holt, 34, and his wife, Danna, were released from the Johnson County Detention Center last week following their arrest July 6 for possession of a controlled substance with intent to deliver after police discovered 114 grams of methamphetamine in the couple's vehicl...

Venezia's of Russellville applies for alcohol permitLITTLE ROCK — An Italian restaurant in Russellville has applied to become the city's 14th private club that can sell alcohol. Fran Biba filed a private club application last week with the Alcoholic Beverage Control Division of the state Department of Finance and Administration for Venezia's Italian Kitchen, which opened in October 2011. The filing comes as Fat Daddy's Bar-B-Que, the 13th business in the city to secure a private club license, i...

Mother of ANO worker files wrongful death suitThe mother of the 24-year-old man who died in March after a 600-ton generator stator fell from a crane at Arkansas Nuclear One has filed a wrongful death lawsuit. Susan Allen, the mother of Wade C. Walters, filed the lawsuit Tuesday in Pope County Circuit Court against Entergy Arkansas Inc., Bigge Crane and Rigging Co. and other contractors working on the $20 million stator replacement project. The lawsuit, also filed on behalf of Walters' est...

Yell County police seek 2 suspects in separate casesDANVILLE — The Yell County Sheriff's Deptartment is seeking two suspects in unrelated cases of attempted breaking and entering and residential burglary. Police are trying to identify a male subject for questioning in an attempted breaking and entering. A photo of the man was taken June 12 near Danville, and police said he was driving a dark-colored four-door Toyota sedan. In an unrelated case, the department is also seeking Margie Crow, 44, in...

Murder charge filed in stabbing death of six-year-old girlCLARKSVILLE — A man accused of stabbing a six-year-old girl who later died has been charged with first-degree murder. Fifth Judicial District Prosecuting Attorney David Gibbons filed charges Thursday against Kou Her, 22, of Clarksville following the stabbing death of Autumn Vang, 6, at her home near Hartman in the early morning hours of May 10. Police said Her stabbed Vang behind the ear after Vang's relatives, who also sustained stab wounds i...

Like Russellville, Springfield challenges new Walmart storeA week before Russellville residents vote on a zoning ordinance that allows the construction of a Walmart Neighborhood Market , voters in Springfield, Mo., will do the same. Walmart wants to open its fifth Neighborhood Market store in Springfield, but voters in the city of 160,000 are to decide on Aug. 6 whether to repeal zoning now allowing the store to be built. Springfield's City Council voted, 5-4, in February to allow land for what was on...

2012 alcohol sales in Russellville: $1.2 millionDrinkers in Russellville spent more than $1.2 million on alcohol at the city's 12 private clubs in 2012, according to tax collection data obtained by The Courier. The city of Russellville collects a five-percent tax on private club's total alcohol sales, which brought the city more than $60,000 last year. In 2011, when alcohol sales totaled $1.14 million, the city collected about $57,000. Alcohol tax receipts surpassed $1 million in 2010 and h...

Hogs-LSU set for annual Black Friday matchupThe wonderful tradition of Arkansas playing LSU on the Friday after Thanksgiving will continue this year, CBS announced on Thursday. There's been talk in recent years of moving the game, chatter that fortunately did not come to fruition. The Hogs and Tigers will kickoff at 1:30 p.m. on Nov. 29 in Baton Rouge. — Also in Arkansas-LSU news, the baseball teams meet at 4:30 p.m. Tuesday after the Razorbacks beat Ole Miss 2-1 in the SEC Tournament. ...

Restaurant granted alcohol permit for downtown Russellville locationFat Daddy's Bar-B-Que has been granted a private club permit to sell alcohol at its new location at 104 North Denver Avenue in downtown Russellville. James B. Shirron applied for the permit with no objections from Russellville mayor Bill Eaton or police chief Jeff Humphrey, according to documents from the Alcoholic Beverage Control (ABC) Division of the state Department of Finance and Administration. The Russellville Area Chamber of Commerce a...

Man recovering from burns sustained in Clarksville explosionCLARKSVILLE — A man injured last week in an explosion at an ammunition manufacturing facility is recovering after being critically injured in the blast. Jared Dean underwent surgery Friday and "doctors are amazed at his progress," Jerry Dean, owner of Black Powder Inc., and Jared Dean's father, wrote in a statement on the black powder distributor's website. Dean was the only person injured in the May 14 explosion north of Clarksville that inve...

Brandon Mitchell transferring to N.C. StateFormer Arkansas quarterback/receiver Brandon Mitchell will play his last season of football at North Carolina State. Mitchell was granted his release from the Razorbacks earlier this month after he apparently lost the spring quarterback competition to sophomore Brandon Allen. — Gus's World Famous Fried Chicken is set to open this week, just in time for Riverfest, which begins Friday. My uncle, a former Memphis dweller, has long gushed about Gu...